Cleveland police say air conditioner theft is common winter crime

A suspect used bolt cutters to snip the lines to this air conditioning unit during an attempted theft on Cleveland's West Side Nov. 25, 2013.Courtesy photo

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Police say a man who on Monday attempted
to steal multiple air conditioning units from a West Side neighborhood likely
wanted to sell the appliances for scrap -- a common crime during winter when
residents go months without switching on the AC.

"We've been seeing a lot of this," said Cmdr. Keith Sulzer.
"It happens mostly at newer homes because they have outdoor units."

The EcoVillage community on West 58th Street is
ripe for AC theft. Air conditioning units dot the communal backyard shared by
nine EcoVillage townhomes.

The failed thief broke through a wooden fence there about
8:30 a.m. to access the backyard. He used bolt cutters to sever two AC units
from their respective residences.

But the heist was foiled when resident Ross Pollock saw the
man in the backyard and confronted him. The startled suspect then slipped
through another fence he pried open, hopped into a nearby U-Haul truck and sped
off, Pollock said.

"I'm sure it wasn't the safest thing to confront him, but I
wanted him to know we were home and that we keep our eyes on the neighborhood,"
Pollock said. "I didn't want him to think that he could do this and get away
with it."

Responding officers told Pollock his air conditioning unit
would have netted the thief about $25 at a local scrapyard.

Ohio law requires scrapyards to snap customer photos and enter
their personal information into a statewide database searchable by law
enforcement. The rules – set in place last year to thwart rampant, illegal
scrapping – help police identify suspects in theft investigations, Sulzer said.

However, those potential suspects only end up in the
database after they've sold the stolen metal. Determining if a customer is
selling illegitimate items is impractical if not impossible for scrap
businesses, said Charlie Dubber, a worker at the McMahan's Wrecking scrapyard
on West 65th Street.

"Theft is big around here, but there's no way to really tell
if something is stolen unless a customer told us it's stolen," Dubber said,
adding that customers sell AC units to the scrapyard daily.

Police on Tuesday offered residents advice on how to avoid
becoming a victim of the trending crime.

"Make sure your units are secured," Sulzer said. "Some of
them aren't even bolted. Securing the units is helpful. Just keep an eye out
for people in places they are not supposed to be."

(Disclosure: Northeast
Ohio Media Group reporter Brandon Blackwell lives in EcoVillage and is one of
the residents whose AC units were damaged in the attempted theft.)